How to create the core values that your start-up can thrive by

It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day intricacies of running your business. You have to answer this email, sort out that crisis, fix that leaking tap.

Before you know it, you’ve got a bustling business packed to the brim with employees who have no idea what core values drive your company forward, where they fit in or how important they are to your success.

If you don’t define these core values upfront, then you will find that your company culture won’t be aligned with who you are and will decay alongside your passion and exuberance.

Without your guidance and your definition, your company will become a monster that runs out of control. When that happens, it’s already too late to instil the values afterwards.

It needs to be done right at the start so each new employee holds these at the centre of their behaviour and attitude and replicate your passion and drive.

So how do you do this?

If you’re a sole owner, do some introspection. If you’re a group, sit down and collaborate.

Use this as an opportunity to determine your own core values, detail their meaning and the behaviours that are non-negotiable. For a group of founders, sit down and negotiate what works best as a whole and for each individual.

You cannot do a quick, half-job here. You need to drive this as a top priority in your business, from definition to implementation.

If you are an existing business with several staff and have not yet defined these core values, good luck. Not only do you have to spend hours on yourself, but you have to get buy in from your staff.

They joined your business without these in place so may conflict with their existing values which could result in low retention post implementation.

However, if you succeed and get buy in from your staff then you’re moving down the right road to success. You now have a culture in place that will determine how you interact with suppliers, clients and one another. It streamlines your recruitment process and could save you challenges with the CCMA down the line.